Yanks invade second island in Palaus area
Advance on Morotai, in Halmaheras
By Frank Tremaine, United Press staff writer
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii –
U.S. invasion forces extended their foothold in the Southern Palau Islands today, capturing one-third of tiny Angaur and the southern end of Peleliu, together with its airfield, 560 miles east of the Philippines.
Army troops of the 81st Infantry Division, which landed on Angaur Saturday, rolled through the three-square-mile island against little opposition and penetrated as much as 1,500 yards at one point.
Marines on Peleliu, six miles north of Angaur, met stiff resistance but with the support of a steady naval and air bombardment, fanned out for one-third of a mile on the southwest coast and were driving northward.
Tighten grip on Morotai
At the same time, Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s veteran Army forces tightened their grip on Morotai, in the Halmaheras. at the southern end of the American line extending around the southeastern corner of Mindanao from the Palaus.
Southwest Pacific Headquarters said the troops reached all the perimeter objectives against negligible opposition and continued to consolidate their beachhead.
While construction battalions rushed completion of the Pitu Airfield, 250 miles south of the Philippines, Allied bombers dropped more than 210 tons of explosives in neutralization raids on other Halmahera airdromes.
Drive 1,000 yards inland
On Angaur, Army troops under Maj. Gen. Paul J. Mueller pushed more than 1000 yards inland within a day after they landed, joined their beachheads on the north and northeast end of the island, captured a radio station and started a drive southward.
The American line extended from the phosphate diggings on the west coast to a point 200 yards south of Rocky Point on the east coast.
“The northeast third of Angaur now is in our hands,” Adm. Chester W. Nimitz said, and observers believed the Jap garrison of less than 2,000 men may be overwhelmed by the end of the week.
Seize high ground
The invasion of Angaur eliminated the threat of Jap artillery from the rear of the 1st Division Marines hacking their way northward through Peleliu.
Despite the heavy opposition in which the Japs were using artillery and mortars, the Marines drove one-third of a mile from their beachhead on the southwest corner, seized a large part of the town of Asias-Omaok and occupied high ground in the Ngarekeukl area.
William Ewing, in a pooled broadcast from a U.S. flagship off Palau, said the Marines captured the highest point on Peleliu – a 200-foot hill overlooking the entire island – and reported that the battle was progressing favorably “beyond our greatest expectations.”
Losses heavy
The hill, Mr. Ewing said, was an important objective. From it the Japs had hurled mortar and artillery shells on U.S. forces.
Losses were heavy in taking the hill by frontal attack, he said. He added that total U.S. casualties have been relatively light.
The Marines and fire of warships and planes were taking a heavy toll of the Jap force, numbering 10,000 men at the start. In four days of fighting, the Americans have counted 1,400 Jap dead.
The Marines captured the second radio station on the island, a power plant and the Peleliu Airfield, which has two strips, each 4,200 feet long, and is large enough to accommodate medium bombers and fighters.
Headquarters disclosed that the Marines on Peleliu consisted of elements of the 1st Regiment under Col. Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller of Saluda, Virginia, the 7th Regiment under Col. Herman H. Hannekan of Kingston, North Carolina, and the 50th Regiment under Col. Harold D. Harris of Alexandria, Georgia.
A Tokyo broadcast gave an indication of the nature of the American assault on Peleliu. It said U.S. battleships “are cruising back and forth, raining salvo after salvo into the Japanese positions” and by Sunday had fired over 10,000 shells. At the same time, Tokyo added, formations of Allied planes “which darkened the skies continuously rained bombs on our positions.”
Allied bombers from Adm. Nimitz and Gen. MacArthur’s commands, meanwhile, continued widespread attacks on bases through the Central and Southwest Pacific.
Seventh Army Air Force Liberators hit Iwo Jima, in the Volcanos; Marcus Island; Pagan and Rota, in the Marianas: Ponape in the Carolines, and Nauru, west of the Gilberts.
Allied pilots of the Far Eastern Air Force swept through the Dutch East Indies, mostly concentrating on shipping lanes where they sank or damaged 13 merchant vessels, barges and small craft. The largest was a 3,000-ton freighter-transport which was sunk off Celebes Island.